This invention relates to the processing of infectious wastes at medical facilities or other locations and more particularly to apparatus and methods for collecting and sterilizing such wastes.
Potentially infectious wastes which originate in hospitals, medical clinics or other locations must be sterilized prior to being disposed of at landfills or other garbage disposal sites. Such wastes may be of various types of which used bandages, specimen containers and used hypodermic needles are examples.
In the typical practice medical personnel or others deposit such wastes in temporary containers which are situated in the hospital or the like at the locations where the wastes originate. The containers are lined with disposable plastic bags. The filled bags of unprocessed waste are transferred to a wheeled collection cart which is traveled to a sterilization station that is usually located some distance away from the locations at which the wastes originate. The bags are then transferred to a sealable pressure resistant sterilizer vessel which is a built in component of the sterilization station. Sterilization is typically effected by directing high temperature steam into the sealed sterilizer vessel for a period of time sufficient to destroy infectious organisms in the waste.
Collection of the bags of unprocessed waste at the source and subsequent transfer of the bags from the collection cart to the sterilizer can cause spatter and air flow towards the persons who perform the operations. This has necessitated sanitation procedures which complicate the processing of the wastes and add significantly to operating costs. It would be advantageous if this repeated handling of unsterilized wastes were minimized or eliminated.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
In one aspect, this invention provides biohazardous waste processing apparatus having a waste sterilizer vessel forming a chamber with an opening for receiving the wastes. The opening is sealable by a sealing closure to enable sterilization of the contents of the vessel by admission of steam into the chamber. The sterilizer vessel is also a portable waste collection cart which rides on support wheels enabling travel of the sterilizer vessel between a first location at which the waste is collected and a second location at which sterilization is performed.
In another aspect of the invention, biohazardous waste collection and processing apparatus includes a portable sealable waste collection vessel formed of pressure resistant and thermally insulative material and having an opening through which biohazardous waste is deposited in the vessel. The waste collection vessel is supported on wheels which enable travel of the vessel between a first location at which the waste originates and a second location at which the wastes within the vessel are sterilized by direction of steam into the vessel. The apparatus further includes an openable lid for closing the opening at the first location, the lid being temporarily replaceable by a sealing closure at the second location. The sealing closure seals the vessel at the second location during direction of steam into the vessel.
In still another aspect, the invention provides a method for processing biohazardous wastes which originate at a first location and which are sterilized at a second location. Steps in the method include utilizing a wheeled sealable pressure resistant sterilizer vessel at the first location for receiving said wastes thereat, wheeling the vessel to the second location, temporarily sealing the vessel at the second location while the wastes remain therein, and sterilizing the wastes at the second location by injecting steam into the vessel prior to removal of the wastes from the vessel.
The invention reduces exposure of handlers to infectious wastes by utilizing a portable sterilizer chamber as a waste receiving or collection cart at the source of the wastes. The cart may then be wheeled to another location where the sterilization is performed without requiring any transfer of the wastes from the cart to a sterilizer. Optionally, the still unemptied cart may be used to transport the now sterilized waste to still another location where the waste is dumped into a compactor and transferred to a transportable processed waste receiving bin. This enables the waste processing system as a whole to be compact and flexible with regard to the location of system components. In the preferred form of the invention, medical staff or others who first deposit infectious wastes in the portable sterilizer chamber are protected by creating an air flow from the chamber opening to a filter at times when the chamber lid is open.
The invention, together with further aspects and advantages thereof, may be further understood by reference to the following description of the preferred embodiment and by reference to the accompanying drawings.